Atascadero planning commission backs Home Depot Center changes to allow Chick‑fil‑A, car wash and retail pad

The Atascadero Planning Commission voted unanimously on March 3 to recommend that City Council amend the Home Depot Center master plan (Plan Development Overlay No. 9) to conditionally allow a car wash, a Chick‑fil‑A drive‑through restaurant and a roughly 4,200‑square‑foot retail/restaurant shell, and to approve a related lot‑line adjustment and conditional use permit.

Community‑development presenter Eric Gomez told commissioners the 27‑acre Home Depot Center has roughly 230,000 square feet of existing development and three remaining vacant pads. The proposal bundles a 5,000‑square‑foot drive‑through restaurant (planned as Chick‑fil‑A), a roughly 4,000‑square‑foot car wash and a retail pad. Staff recommended approval of a zone amendment to PD‑9 to conditionally allow car‑wash uses, approval of the lot‑line adjustment, and approval of the CUP with a parking reduction, driveway modification and sign exception, all subject to findings and conditions of approval.

Gomez said the center uses shared parking across the east and west sides of the property; the east side is required to provide 262 spaces but the applicant proposes 236, a deficit of about 26 spaces, which staff judged acceptable given shared parking and anticipated demand. The applicant is also requesting a design exception to allow approximately 90 square feet of wall signage on the car wash building where the master sign program caps wall signs at 60 square feet.

Traffic and circulation featured heavily in the discussion. Public Works Director Nick DeBarr said the project’s traffic report analyzed four nearby intersections and did not predict queueing onto Highway 101; he recommended temporary traffic‑control measures during the first weeks of operation if queuing becomes an issue and noted signal warrants require a material drop in level of service before a traffic signal is considered. Staff acknowledged the driveway‑spacing standard (a typical target of 145 feet) cannot be fully met at one southeast driveway; the proposal yields about 109 feet between two driveways and the city’s public‑works review and peer traffic engineering work did not identify an operational safety concern.

Applicant representative Connor Best of Westar Associates said the proposal completes the interchange site’s build‑out, described coordination with Chick‑fil‑A’s traffic engineers, and said an acoustical study had been provided to staff. Commissioners asked for the numeric decibel readings from that study; staff and the applicant confirmed an acoustic report exists and that conditions include limiting car‑wash operating hours to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and requiring manufacturer‑recommended noise‑control measures (for example, silencing packages or shielding for vacuum/dryer equipment), but the specific decibel excerpts were not on the dais.

Best also flagged several conditions of approval and asked the commission to remove or refine ambiguous language. In particular, he requested removal of a requirement to install evergreen landscape screening around Chick‑fil‑A’s decorative trash enclosure, citing operational and rodent concerns; commissioners and staff discussed compromise language but ultimately approved a motion that removed the mandatory landscape‑screening requirement.

A procedural issue surfaced during the hearing: one commissioner said the conditional use permit and the specific conditions were not available on the city website before the meeting. City staff said the matter had been properly noticed under the Brown Act and that the materials were made available at the dais and in‑room at the meeting; staff apologized for the omission from the online posting and pledged the full report and conditions will be posted before the City Council hearing.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to adopt a draft resolution recommending the City Council amend PD‑9 to conditionally allow car‑wash uses, approve lot‑line adjustment ATAL25‑0042, and approve the CUP (CUP 2000‑0014) with a parking reduction, driveway design modification and sign exceptions, incorporating the edit to remove the required trash‑enclosure landscaping. The motion was seconded and passed by roll call; all commissioners voted yes.

What’s next: The Planning Commission’s action is a recommendation to City Council; the item will move to a council hearing where staff said the complete report and the final conditions will be published and available to the public in advance of the council decision.